Live from CTI

Greetings from CTI!!!

We arrived yesterday at Montego Bay. The trip through customs and immigrations was quick and effortless. Upon arrival at the Couples lounge, we encountered the amazing level of customer service that we have come to expect from Couples. Sadly, Ava was not working yesterday, so we did not get to see her.

The trip to CTI was the fastest we have ever had. Just over 1.5 hours. We arrived to a smiling greeting from Byron and we knew we were home again. The place looks great. The renovations are wonderful (though I still have serious issues with that couch in the lobby, we REALLY miss the flowers that used to be there). Unfortunately, the weather here is not so good. The island has been closed for a week, but the weather report say things should improve this weekend. No problem. Island or no island, there is no place that we would rather be.

I will be checking in here most mornings during our stay. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post them here and I will do my best to respond.

Day 3 - Saturday Morning

Greetings from the most relaxing spot on earth.

Yesterday was a red flag day, which means the island was closed. No problem, we all camped out by the hot tubs and relaxaed. Not a lot to report really. The food is still great, the service is still exceptional and newly remodeled resort looks great. I short, we are having a great time!

On the weather front, the wind has died down. There was downpour early this morning, but that is normal for Jamaica in my experience. We saw quite a bit of sunshine yesterday. As I type, the sky is overcast, but there is no rain and zero wind. The red flag is still up, but the sea is calm so we hope it will be coming down soon. It looks like the dock on the island may have taken some damage in the recent storms. There has been a team working on yesterday and this morning.

I have some bad news. Ulysess, the omelette chef has not returned to CTI. I am not sure if he will return in the future, but I sure miss talking with him every morning.

JH, thanks for the ongoing updates. Glad you're having a great time and that CTI is treating you fantabously. Looks like the weather is improving (just in time for my buddy Kristen and Bryan it would seem), so great news on that front. Altho I've never stayed at a Couples resort, I'm almost as bummed as you vets that the Ulysses has yet to return and may not ever. Since reading post after post with respect to his culinary talents, I have eagerly anticipated inhaling one of his legendary ommelettes. Hopefully the replacement chef can ably fill his shoes.

Ron

Reading is fundamental. It's just that for some, it's more mental than fun.

Day 4 - Sunday Morning

Yesterday was another fantastic day at CTI. The sun came out, the wind calmed down and everyone hit the beach. We spent most of the day with friends just lying around near the hot tubs, reading, talking, laughing and soaking up the sun. Good times.

Mandy and I ate lunch at the beach grill. The snapper sandwhich there is amazing. Highly recommended, as is the calamari. Since the beach grill moved behind the pool, they have been able to expand their menu. So far everything I have eaten there has been great.

We attend Couples 32nd anniversary party last night. All I can say is WOW! I have been to several of these parties before, but this topped anything I have experienced here to date. It was one of the finiest meals I have ever had. I ate so much shrimp and lobster (oh, the fond memories of those lobster medallions) that I thought I could not eat any more, but then I wandered into the dessert room. Yes, I said dessert ROOM. The entire beach grill restaurant was filled with desserts. I have never seen so many different uses of chocolate in one place. My congratulations to Chef Spath and his team of amazing culinary masters. You folks blew me away. This was a meal I will be telling folks about for a long time to come. Bravo!

For those who have been asking me about the weather, it really is improving. They were not able to open the island yesterday as ther water currents were still a bit strong, but Mr Henry generously offered to allow us to spend the day at CSS to compensate. As it turns out, we did not take him up on the offer, but I really appreciated him doing so. There was a lot of rain this morning, but it has stopped and the sky is clearing. I understand that watersports will be operating today, but no word on the island as of yet. No matter, if today is anything like yesterday, we will have a great time regardless of whether the island opens. So, for those of you who are coming soon, do not be concerned about the weather. It is improving everyday and is not really an issue any longer.

Well, I have to run. Another day in paradise awaits! I'll check in again tomorrow.

Thursday

Originally Posted by JamaicaHound

Yesterday was another fantastic day at CTI. The sun came out, the wind calmed down and everyone hit the beach. We spent most of the day with friends just lying around near the hot tubs, reading, talking, laughing and soaking up the sun. Good times.

Mandy and I ate lunch at the beach grill. The snapper sandwich there is amazing. Highly recommended, as is the calamari. Since the beach grill moved behind the pool, they have been able to expand their menu. So far everything I have eaten there has been great.

We attend Couples 32nd anniversary party last night. All I can say is WOW! I have been to several of these parties before, but this topped anything I have experienced here to date. It was one of the finiest meals I have ever had. I ate so much shrimp and lobster (oh, the fond memories of those lobster medallions) that I thought I could not eat any more, but then I wandered into the dessert room. Yes, I said dessert ROOM. The entire beach grill restaurant was filled with desserts. I have never seen so many different uses of chocolate in one place. My congratulations to Chef Spath and his team of amazing culinary masters. You folks blew me away. This was a meal I will be telling folks about for a long time to come. Bravo!

For those who have been asking me about the weather, it really is improving. They were not able to open the island yesterday as ther water currents were still a bit strong, but Mr Henry generously offered to allow us to spend the day at CSS to compensate. As it turns out, we did not take him up on the offer, but I really appreciated him doing so. There was a lot of rain this morning, but it has stopped and the sky is clearing. I understand that watersports will be operating today, but no word on the island as of yet. No matter, if today is anything like yesterday, we will have a great time regardless of whether the island opens. So, for those of you who are coming soon, do not be concerned about the weather. It is improving everyday and is not really an issue any longer.

Well, I have to run. Another day in paradise awaits! I'll check in again tomorrow.

Hi must say we were getting a little concerned about the weather,the 7 day forecast still has overcast sky,we will hope it clears as we arrive on Thursday we may cross paths
Dougie and Val[Aberdeen Scotland]

Day 5 - Monday Morning

Just time for a quick note this morning. The weather has truly turned around. Warm, sunny, mild breeze and calm ocean. It absolutely beautiful here.

They opened the island around 10:30 after sending a team over to clean up the mess made bay the last few weeks of bad weather. They are completely rebuilding the cement part of the dock on the island. A mold was poured on Friday and it is still setting, so we arrived on the island using the old Normandy landing approach on the beach. We spent most of our time there, hanging out in the pool, chatting with Damion and the other folks who were there. The place was packed. Lots of fun.

We ate at Bayside last night. I am not a fan of Spicy food and I'm afraid dinner didnt agree with us. Looks like Bayside is not for us. We are the exception though, most people love the Asian menu, so the change from Italian was probably a good idea. For us, it means we have one less choice for place to eat, but we can always find something we like at one of the other restaurants, so its not a big deal.

Tonight is the repeaters dinner. I'm really looking for to that, as the food has always been excellent in the past.

JH, thanks for the ongoing updates. Glad you're having a great time and that CTI is treating you fantabously. Looks like the weather is improving (just in time for my buddy Kristen and Bryan it would seem), so great news on that front. Altho I've never stayed at a Couples resort, I'm almost as bummed as you vets that the Ulysses has yet to return and may not ever. Since reading post after post with respect to his culinary talents, I have eagerly anticipated inhaling one of his legendary ommelettes. Hopefully the replacement chef can ably fill his shoes.

Ron, although Ulysses was not at CTI for our short stay there, I would think he would have to make them the same as the replacement. Here at CN, there are many different people that make the omelets but they always come out the same. The omeletes at CN are 10 times better than the one I had at CTI. And that's not an exaggeration. At CTI, they just dumped the eggs in and then the toppings, with no flipping over. Here at CN, they first saute the toppings in oil and then pour in the eggs. Then, they flip it over (in the air by flipping the pan...very impressive) several times making the best omelete I've ever had. And..they are consistent! Exactly the same every time, no matter who makes it. Also, they always have crab meat. CTI doesn't. None while we were there. And Ron, while at CN try a Wally special omelet...Ham, Crab Meat, Tomatoes and Cheese! Can't be beat.

Great to hear that the journey time is only 1.5 hours, I remember when it took most of the evening when we arrived. We are making our latest visit at the start of February, hope the weather is better by then. Do you happen to know if Garfield and Everton the maitre'd is still there. Good to see Byron is there, it would not be the same without him. How are the renovations, we have heard that the bathrooms still have a few problems, how have you found them? Will I still need to starve myself to make way for the food?

Ron, although Ulysses was not at CTI for our short stay there, I would think he would have to make them the same as the replacement. Here at CN, there are many different people that make the omelets but they always come out the same. The omeletes at CN are 10 times better than the one I had at CTI. And that's not an exaggeration. At CTI, they just dumped the eggs in and then the toppings, with no flipping over. Here at CN, they first saute the toppings in oil and then pour in the eggs. Then, they flip it over (in the air by flipping the pan...very impressive) several times making the best omelete I've ever had. And..they are consistent! Exactly the same every time, no matter who makes it. Also, they always have crab meat. CTI doesn't. None while we were there. And Ron, while at CN try a Wally special omelet...Ham, Crab Meat, Tomatoes and Cheese! Can't be beat.

Wally, I'll make sure to do just that! That actually sounds like one heck of a tasty combo, so no problems with requesting it.

I'm a bit surprised at how much better they are at CN vs CTI, especially with so many CTI loyalists swearing by them. Maybe having Ulysses make them really is the difference. Oh well, regardless, I'll at least be able to verify all this first hand, being I'll be having them at each resort. Oh yeah.

Ron

Reading is fundamental. It's just that for some, it's more mental than fun.

The weather continues to be amazing. Warm and sunny with a slight breeze. Just phenominal. The new dock on the island is almost ready, but we are still using the beach front landing techinique. The repeaters dinner last night was amazing. The lobester and shrimp were phenominal.

Sorry it has teken me so long to respond to you questions. I was not able to check the board this morning. Here, to the best of my knowledge, are the answers:

Originally Posted by Kathy13

Hi JamaicaHound
Could you please say "Hi" to Alice and Jack? I tried to email her before they left but it didn't go through. We are arriving on Jan 20th.
Thanks
Kathy and Jim
Walnutport, PA

I passed your message on to Jack and Alice. They are very excited that you will be coming here. They will be at Sans Souci tomorrow, but I'm sure you will run into them after that.

Originally Posted by mlavoie

Hi,

We are looking to going to CTI for our 25th Anniversary April 21 to May 1. We actually spend our honeymoon there 25 years ago. Can you tell me how the rooms are now?

Thanks, Mona

The rooms are probably very much as you remember them, but spruced up with the remodel. The big change is that only suites have tubs. Most rooms have showers. We go for a garden view room, and aside from the loss of the bathtub, its pretty much the same as it has been in all our previous trips.

[QUOTE=sunnydunbar;43921]

Originally Posted by JamaicaHound

Greetings from Scotland

Great to hear that the journey time is only 1.5 hours, I remember when it took most of the evening when we arrived. We are making our latest visit at the start of February, hope the weather is better by then. Do you happen to know if Garfield and Everton the maitre'd is still there. Good to see Byron is there, it would not be the same without him. How are the renovations, we have heard that the bathrooms still have a few problems, how have you found them? Will I still need to starve myself to make way for the food?

I haven't seen Garfield or Everton, but I beleive they are still here. The renovations are very nice. The resort is beautiful and has not lost all of its 50's hollywood hangout elegance. I miss the flowers in the lobby and the piano in Eight Rivers (used to be called Le Gourmet) but I like most everything else. As for the showers, I beleive they have fixed that problem. Our room has a small lip installed at the edge of the shower to keep water from flowing into the bathroom. In the mornings we sometimes do not have quite enough hot water (the showers are not cold, but they are frequently lukewarm). The water preasure problems that used to be common at the resort seem to have been fixed.

As for the food, almost every meal has completely exceeded our expectations. Chef Spath and his team have created some remarkable offerings. The only meal I didn't enjoy was at Bayside. The new Asian menu there is too spicey for my tastes, but from what I can tell, most folks love it.

Originally Posted by Wally

Ron, although Uleysses was not at CTI for our short stay there, I would think he would have to make them the same as the replacement. Here at CN, there are many different people that make the omelets but they always come out the same. The omeletes at CN are 10 times better than the one I had at CTI. And that's not an exaggeration. At CTI, they just dumped the eggs in and then the toppings, with no flipping over. Here at CN, they first saute the toppings in oil and then pour in the eggs. Then, they flip it over (in the air by flipping the pan...very impressive) several times making the best omelete I've ever had. And..they are consistent! Exactly the same every time, no matter who makes it. Also, they always have crab meat. CTI doesn't. None while we were there. And Ron, while at CN try a Wally special omelet...Ham, Crab Meat, Tomatoes and Cheese! Can't be beat.

The technique you describe is the technique they are using here. I am diappointed by the lack of crab meat however.

Tomorrow we are off to do a trading places day at Sans Souci. I look forward to trying out Sunset Beach.

JamaicaHound: Thanks for the on-the-spot reporting! I've been looking for someone who posts from there. Great idea. I'll look forward to your report once you return home (there's no place like it, remember!). We'll be there in 17 short days. I've already begun my gathering. Anyhow, thanks for your great effort.